The Tournament
by blahblahblahwatermellon
Summary: Scorpius is in love with Rose, but it's obvious that she doesn't feel the same way. Will Scorpius' extremely daring plan to get her to see him in a different light work, or will Rose stay ignorant of his love forever?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! All right to J. K. Rowling!

 **Chapter 1**

"Love you, Mom! Love you, Dad" Rose gave her parents two more awkward side hugs.

"Love you too, sweetie!" they both chimed.

Then Rose turned to hop onto the Hogwarts Express for her sixth year at the wizarding school. She found the compartment where her close cousins, James, Albus, and Lily, and little brother, Hugo all were. They had all already started to hoard up on candy and were munching on pumpkin patties when she walked in. _Sweet tooth much?_

"What's up guys?" Rose snagged a chocolate frog and plopped down on the seat next to Albus.

"Not much" James looked at the frog wiggling around in the box in Rose's hand.

Rose, catching the greedy glance, shooed her friend away. "Go get your own. Hey, where's Scorpius?"

She hadn't seen the freakishly tall boy while she was on the platform.

"Probably late, as usual," Albus said through a mouthful of Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans. He had a disgusting habit of grabbing a handful of the beans and eating them all at once, no matter what the flavors might be. Sometimes, Rose thought that his taste buds were taste-blind. Albus shoved in another small handful and everybody cringed as he munched.

The train whistle blew as it warned the last people to hop on right on or it would leave them. The compartment door slid open and in walked Scorpius breathing heavily. He was well over six feet tall with platinum blonde hair in a wild and unruly mess, which he had once explained was in defiance of his parents who tried their hardest to make their son a perfect boy. His body was lean and tan from quidditch. He smiled, showing off his cute dimples, his gray eyes crinkled with humor. Rose smiled at the sight of her good old friend from as far back as first year.

She remembered meeting him clearly: she was just sorted into Ravenclaw and she was sitting a bit secluded because she didn't know anybody from the table. Then another First Year moved to sit next to her and she recognized him immediately as the boy her dad pointed out not to be friendly with. Eleven-year-old-Rose started to scowl in anticipation of teasing from him, but was thrown off with the warm and welcoming smile on his lips. They became instant friends and have been ever since along with Albus who was the closest cousin.

"Sorry I'm late!" He flopped down onto seat next to Rose

Rose smiled at her old best friend. "You always are! How do you manage it?"

"I'm just spectacular! That's how I do it." Scorpius smirked. "Along with the dove of girls that were chasing me around! They know I'm spectacular too."

Rose playfully shoved him. He was only half joking though. With his good looks, almost every girl had a crush on him at one point or another. Rose hoped that someday he would find a wonderful person to be with.

"The rumor mill was already turning in full force, though," continued Scorpius. "Everyone was in groups whispering about something, but I was never able to catch anything of it."

They all shrugged it off. If it was important, they would hear about it sooner or later, if it was not, then it would fade away.

Rose, Scorpius, and Albus stayed for only a few moments longer 'cause when the train started to move, they got up to go to the Prefect's compartment. They had all been graced with their badges from their exceptional grades and behavior (except for the occasional prank, of course).

"Ma' lady." Scorpius held out his arm for Rose.

Rose laughed and took it. Together they pranced off to the Prefect's compartment.

-0.O.o^o.O.0-

When Scorpius first saw Rose after he opened the compartment door, his heart started to beat wildly. Her brilliant, curly, red-orange hair bounced when she looked up to smile at him. It had grown over the summer and now reached to middle of her back. Her beautiful smile lit up her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes.

He had had a crush on her since he first saw her being sorted in their First Year. Being delighted at being in the same house, he went to go strike up a friendship immediately. The original, awkward eleven-year-old crush evolved until he was totally head over heels with her. But it was also painfully obvious that she did not feel the same way.

"Sorry I'm late!" He pushed away the words that he wanted to say that went somewhere along the lines of _'Rose, I'm in love with you'_. He wanted so bad to tell her, but know he shouldn't for it would ruin their relationship. Then he went to sit next to her. Being that close was electrifying, but he couldn't stand sitting anywhere else.

Rose beamed at him and his heart began to pound out of his chest.

"You always are!" Rose's musical voice echoed playfully in his mind. "How do you manage it?"

"I'm just spectacular! That's how I do it." Scorpius didn't actually think of himself that way, but he loved to joke around with his friends. Then he thought of the throng of girls that followed him around. He always did get to the platform a little late, but all the girls that stared at him were rather disconcerting. "Along with the drove of girls that were chasing me around! They know that I'm spectacular too."

Rose Playfully shoved him at this comment.

"The rumor mill was already turning in full force, though," Scorpius remembered all the clusters of people talked adamantly and anxiously together. "Everyone was in groups whispering about something, but I was never able to catch anything of it."

Scorpius saw as they thought about this, but rumors and talk was always flying about.

Then the train jerked into movement and Scorpius, Rose, and Albus got up to go to the Prefect's compartment. Rose and Scorpius were the Perfects for the Ravenclaws and Albus for the Gryffindors.

Though the three were from two different houses, they were inseparable in their friendship and did everything possible together.

"Ma' lady," Scorpius held out his arm for Rose hoping to tease another laugh out of her. Happy his endeavor was successful, they all went gaily down the aisle to the Prefect's compartment.

In the compartment, they were given the usual intro in the responsibilities of being Prefects. The entire time Scorpius fought an inner battle with himself to tear is eyes away from Rose and actually pay attention to what was being said. It was a sad battle, one that was barely won and only at a great cost.

Once they got to Hogwarts, Scorpius and Rose sat at the Ravenclaw table congratulating the First Years that were sorted into their house. Then, Headmistress McGonagall walked up to the podium and began the usual welcoming speech, complete with warnings to not go into the Forbidden Forest.

"We have an extra special announcement this year," She veered off course of her usual discourse. All the heads in the Great Hall snapped up at this and stared at her. "Despite what happened the last time we did this, Hogwarts, in agreement with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, has decided to host the Triwizard Tournament!"

The entire hall fell into a shocked silence. The Triwizard Tournament?! After what happened with Harry Potter?! _Could it be?!_

Then Scorpius got an idea. Turning to Rose, who was staring gob smacked at the Headmistress, he though, _if I could win the Triwizard Tournament… could I possibly win… her heart?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Dear readers,**

 **Thank you** ** _so_** **much for your support and for reading my first official fanfic! This means a lot to me!  
Don't forget to post a review, no matter how long or short! It is always appreciated on the ****_highest_** **level! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own HP!**

 **Chapter 2**

Rose nearly choked on her pumpkin juice.

 _Triwizard Tournament!_ What _?!_

Rose couldn't imagine what could possibly convince the Headmistress to allow it! A boy _died_ last year! And Uncle Harry almost too! _Why_ would they let it back?!

 _Okay, cool down,_ her brain settled itself. _Let's organize the facts. The only reason people almost died was because of Lord Voldemort. But he's dead now, so there's nothing to fear but the obstacles! And the contestants would know the risks. So, why not?_

She found herself nodding thoughtfully. Glancing at Scorpius, she saw she was doing the exact same thing. They both laughed at each other.

"Why not?" Scorpius repeated Rose's thoughts.

Suddenly, it made sense. The Triwizard Tournament was an excellent idea!

Many people in the Great Hall didn't reach that conclusion, though. After the first few moments of silence passed, shouts erupted all around.

Headmistress McGonagall waited for a little while to let everything settle down a bit, but when she saw that that wouldn't happen anytime soon, she cleared her throat. "Every one, settle down!"

Everyone generally quieted, but the whispers didn't stop.

She then began to explain why there was going to be a tournament which was basically the reasons Rose had listed in her head.

Once everyone was satisfied, excitement began to buzz in the air. Rose looked over at Scorpius and saw that he was smiling. Rose grinned back.

:\|/-\|/:

Scorpius went to bed that night very happy. This could be his chance! Finally, he would win her heart.

He hadn't told anybody told anybody about his plan to enter into the tournament. Albus and Rose had talked about it a bit while Scorpius just watched. They both decided not to try to participate in the tournament since they didn't want the personal risks, but thought that it would be exciting. Scorpius held his silence because he had a quiet doubt that he would not be able to represent his school. Besides, if he told them, he would have to explain why and he didn't have a good enough excuse in place yet. And he obviously couldn't say the real reason.

The halls were never quiet with the ceaseless chatter of student talking about the tournament. Who will be the Hogwarts champion? What will the other schools be like? What are the tasks going to be?

Scorpius was relatively quiet on the subject in case he accidentally let something slip. But he glanced at Rose more often than ever. Would his plan work? Would he win the Triwizard Tournament? Would he even be able to play for Hogwarts? He couldn't stop the questions from constantly flowing through his mind.

Then, after a long wait of almost two months, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang schools arrived. The Beauxbatons arrived in their elegant and giant carriage pulled by the enormous palominos, the Durmstrang in the elaborate ship. Soon afterwards, they were joined by Alastair Forlorm, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Charlotte Capernickle, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Dinner was quite a feast. The house-elves filled the tables with every dish, foreign or domestic. The Beauxbatons sat once more at the Ravenclaw table and the Durmstrang at the Slytherin table. The heads for both of the schools sat on either side of McGonagall. Headmaster Hennester, a slim and gentle man, for Beauxbatons, and Headmaster Nesterov, a plump and stern old guy, for Durmstrang.

Despite the glares for Headmaster Nesterov, everyone was chatting and having a wonderful time. There was talk and laughter and, of course, it was all centered around the Triwizard Tournament.

"This is all so exciting!" Rose tried to whisper to him, but there was so much noise that she ended up shouting it in his ear.

Scorpius laughed and shouted back, "Yes, it is!"

Scorpius was truly enjoying himself immensely until he caught sight of a Beauxbatons boy who was smiling and waving at Rose from down the table in a manner that was all too flirtatious for his liking. Scorpius, glancing at Rose, saw that she was turning pink and waving back at the lad. Scorpius, suddenly furious, leaned towards the table, so that the boy could see him if he looked past Rose, and gave the guy a glare that would've knock a moose dead.

The boy, his already pale skin turning as white a sheet of paper, turned his face back down to his food. Scorpius, satisfied with his work, also quickly turned back to his slice of glazed ham. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see Rose, confused at what just happened since she didn't see Scorpius, looked at him and started to say something, but stopped half way through and shook her head.

Scorpius felt quite a bit better after that.

After everyone finished supper and then pigged themselves even more with all the decadent deserts, McGonagall strode to the podium. Everyone got all quiet again.

"First, I want to thank Mr. Forlorm and Ms. Capernickle for arranging everything for the Triwizard Tournament," Headmistress McGonagall started and everyone gave a polite clap. "They, along with Headmaster Hennester, Headmaster Nesterov, and I will judge the champions' completion of their tasks."

Then she beckoned forth Mr. Filch, who must have been one hundred by then. He carried a large, and heavily jewel encrusted box. It looked very old and everybody was starting to inch out of their seats to get a better look at it.

McGonagall continued, "the tasks have been though out thoroughly and meticulously. They will be placed throughout the school year. A champion will be chosen for each school and they will be given further instructions on the challenges they will face. The champions, of course, will be picked from a neutral object."

She then opened the lid to the old box after first tapping it with her wand three times and brought out a coarsely hewn cup. It would have been nothing special, except there was blue fire filling it to the brim.

"This is the Goblet of Fire! Any student wishing to enter the Triwizard Tournament is obligated be of at least seventeen years of ages and must write their name along with their schools' name in put it in this cup by this time tomorrow! I will draw an age line around it to keep out anyone younger than seventeen." Rose and Albus looked at each other. Neither of them were seventeen yet, but Scorpius came of age the week before school started. He hoped they wouldn't think of that. "Tomorrow, Halloween, the Goblet will emit the names of the three champions.

"Lastly, I want to impress to anyone wanting to be a champion that it will be exceedingly dangerous! If you enter into the competition and you are chosen to be a champion, you must follow through with what you have summited yourself to! There is no going back." McGonagall looked around at all of the students trying to get them to know the importance of what she said. Her eyes lingered on Scorpius. "Have a good evening everyone. Off to bed! Please think long and hard about your decisions!"

Everyone stood up and started to funnel through the doors. Scorpius glanced at McGonagall one more time and he thought he saw her nod at him. Scorpius then looked at the Goblet of Fire.

 _I'm going to put my name in there._

Then he trudged up to the Ravenclaw dormitories to lie down on my bed for a little while. After everyone was snoring softly in their beds, he slipped off of his and hurried down the halls as quietly as he could. When Scorpius got to the main entrance hall, he saw the Goblet of Fire, glowing with all its blue glory.

Pulling out the slip of paper from a pocket, Scorpius stared at my name on it. Would his plan work? Could he win over Rose? He was taking a mighty big risk by entering into the Tournament. What if he died? Would Rose ever know his feelings for her?

Then, sucking in a deep breath, Scorpius reached his hand with the slip over the goblet. He didn't feel any heat from the magical object. In fact, it sent chills up his arm. _Be careful_ , it seemed to say.

He was about to draw his hand back when he thought of Rose again. Her beauty, her smarts, and, most importantly, her heart. She was worth it.

Then, Scorpius painfully forced his hand open (it was starting to cramp from holding the paper so tightly) and relinquished his name to the Goblet of Fire. It devoured the scrap with a puff of red flames as if it was saying that there was no turning back now.

He hurried to my dorms and dove into his bed only to stare at the ceiling until dawn.

~{*].-.[*}~

Rose woke up the next with a smile on her face. She had the privilege to spectate the Triwizard Tournament! She hopped out of bed and threw on her clothes, ready and excited to see what was going to happen.

When she got to the common room, she saw Scorpius just coming down the stairs of his dorm room. His face a bit more pale than usual, but Rose dismissed the thought as lack of sleep from excitement. Why wouldn't anybody be excited? She almost-half-wished that she was seventeen so that she could try her luck on the tasks.

Rose ran over to hug Scorpius. "Good morning, friend!"

For a second, she thought she saw Scorpius wince, but immediately canned the thought.

"Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast," Rose said cheerfully. "I just can't wait for later tonight! I wonder who's going to be the Hogwarts champion."

Scorpius mumbled something that sounded more like a groan, but it was the morning and he probably need to get some fuel in him before he would start to work right. Grabbing his arm, Rose pulled him to the door that led out of the Ravenclaw common room.

Rose couldn't stay still the entire day. She was constantly twirling her quill, drumming her fingers on the table, or bouncing around on the balls of her feet. Scorpius seemed to share his anticipation and his usual calm and composed manner cracked just a tiny bit, but enough for his best friend to notice.

"Can you not wait for dinner?!" Rose shook his shoulder. Scorpius grinned nervously back at her.

"Yeah. I'm just a bit scared too, though. Those competitors will be in some serious danger!"

Rose hadn't thought about that, which was rather unusual, for she thought of everything. Frowning slightly she said, "Yeah, I guess so. Huh. Well, I'm sure that the officials will make sure nobody gets hurt _too_ badly. Though I'm sure there will be some _maiming_!"

She wasn't serious, of course, and laughed at Scorpius' startled expression. But she turned away before she saw the terror really set in.

Dinner _finally_ came and Rose couldn't stop herself from bouncing around in her seat while stuffing food in her face. Thanks to their guests, they basically had a feast!

The Goblet of Fire was set in front of the staff table and Rose couldn't tear her eyes off of it while she wiggled around and ate some more. Finally, Headmistress McGonagall stepped next to the goblet.

"The Goblet of Fire is about to make the decisions on who will represent their schools in the Triwizard Tournament! If you are selected, please make your way around the staff table and into the next chamber." McGonagall pointed at the door behind her. "You will receive further instructions there."

Then, as if on cue, the fire in the goblet turned bright red and began to throw sparks everywhere. A tongue of flames shot into the air and a charred piece of paper fluttered toward the ground. McGonagall caught the Piece firmly between her fingers.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is… _Miss Eleanora Rancourt_!"

A cheer went up from the Beauxbatons as they patted an abnormally tall girl on the back. She had a short bob of caramel colored hair and was lean and lithe looking like a cat. She proudly strutted up to the staff table where she and her headmaster exchanged smiles.

Then, all focus went back to the Goblet of Fire as it regurgitated another name. The hall held its breath again.

"The champion for Durmstrang is… _Miss Alina Belevich_!"

The Durmstrang crowd thundered as the pushed forward a tiny girl with long curly black hair and an exceedingly small form. As she made her way to the staff table, she was positively beaming, her cheeks just about matching her scarlet uniform. She tried to share her smile with Headmaster Nesterov, but his came out as a half-grimace.

 _Well, that's rude!_ Rose thought. _To be disappointed with your champion! Why, I never!_

Then, Rose realized that the last champion had to be from Hogwarts! As the last tongue of fire rocketed into the air, she held her breath, hands clenched into fists, ready to cheer for whoever was going to their champion.

"And the Hogwarts champion _is_ … _MR. SCORPIUS MALFOY_!"

Roses shock was wordless.

 _!_

The wild screams of her fellow students defended her ears as she slowly turned to gape to her best friend.

 **Thank you so much for reading this!  
Don't forget to post a review! Reviews make the world go 'round! Or publish chapters faster, as said by the knowledgeable moonshoorm420 once said.**

 **:P**


	3. Chapter 3

I'm sooo sorry for the rather long wait for this chapter! I've been super busy with family and school stuff, so this chapter might suck a bit too (if all my chapters don't already). But anyway, here it is!

 **Chapter 3**

Rose stared, shocked at her best and closest friend. Scorpius also seemed slightly jolted, but not in the completely unexpected way this was for her.

 _Why didn't he tell her?_

That single question dominated her brain. Why, _why_ , didn't he tell _her_ , his _best friend!_ She was his best friend, right? What if he told someone else?! What if they weren't friends anymore?! This thought shook her into movement.

Lunging toward Scorpius, Rose's hands clamped down like iron vises on his shoulders.

" _Why didn't you tell me?_ " Rose screamed partially because of the intensity of the feeling of betrayal and also 'cause of the thunderstorm of noise rolling over them.

Scorpius blushed, turning into a tomato. "I honestly didn't think I would make it in!" He looked awfully ashamed of himself, which made Rose feel better.

But not good enough. As the crowd of human beings swarmed them, she gave her best friend one last hurt look before he was pushed and pulled away toward the chamber that all the other champions disappeared into.

McGonagall gave a last speech to the rest of the people in the dining hall, but Rose wasn't listening to it. When they were dismissed to go to their respective dorms, she lingered behind everybody and hid behind a suit of amour close to the door.

She was going to ambush Scorpius after he comes out and demand some answers.

.o.'_\~/_'.o.

The hurt on Rose's face made Scorpius want to tear his self to bits. How could he do that to Rose? What must she think of him now? Would she ever love him now?! He couldn't bear to think of it.

Scorpius looked around inside the staff room. The two other girls who were already in there were huddled together at the fire whispering. When he walked in, they suspiciously clamed up.

"Hi," Scorpius said feeling very awkward as he was subjected to the stares of the girls. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy." He held put his hand.

The Beauxbatons champion straitened and stuck her chin in the air before strongly grasping Scorpius' hand. She was so tall that her head rose a few inches above his.

"My name ees Eleanora Rancourt."

They nodded to each other and Scorpius turned to meet the other girl who smiled shyly and partially hid her small form behind the mane of black curls.

"Alina Belevich," she practically whispered.

"Nice to meet you," Scorpius replied remembering his upbringing in manners.

They then made themselves comfortable in the plush chairs that filled the room. It was painfully obvious that they were all thinking the same: how difficult will it be to defeat the other two. The three of them sat there in a slightly awkward silence until the headmasters and all came in.

Headmistress McGonagall burst through the doors of the staff room.

"Welcome champions! How lucky you are to be chosen to represent your school!" She beamed at Scorpius.

"Yes, 'vell 've'll see about that," Headmaster Nesterov for Durmstrang glared down his pointy nose at Alina.

Alina almost looked like she regretted being chosen as a champion.

 _What is that dude's problem?_ thought Scorpius as he looked on. Several other people were obviously wondering about the apparent dislike the Durmstrang Headmaster had for his champion.

Headmaster Hennester looked exceedingly pleased with Eleanora, constantly throwing her smiles and winks, which Eleanor soaked up.

McGonagall continued, dismissing Nesterov's remark, "I'm sure you champions know the rules. Now that you have been chosen, there is no going back. You are in this now at your own personal risk."

The way she looked at the three while she said that made Scorpius want to rethink what he had gotten himself into. _No_ , he told his self, _I'm doing this for Rose! And even if she can't see it right now, I'll try my best._

"Now," Mr. Forlorm, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, proceeded in McGonagall's stead, "would you like to know what your first task will be?"

The champions gaped at the Headmistress.

"You would tell us?" asked Eleanora incredulously in her sharp French accent.

"Some, but not all," was the reply. "You will all come to this room again, on November 24 after lunch, where you will be sent to a place that you must escape from. Somewhere in that place there will be a clue about the second task. It is not mandatory that you get the clue, but it will help immensely with the next task as we will not be telling you anything about it."

Eleanora spoke again, "what will ze place be?"

"Ah, that is the part that I am not telling you!"

The Beauxbatons champion visibly slumped. But Scorpius on the other hand, was very pleased with all the information he received, plus the opportunity to get more!

"Now champions," Headmistress McGonagall said, "that is all you need to know for now. Off to bed!"

She shooed out the three champions. Hennester led a flouncing Eleanora, her short hair bouncing around her head, to their carriage. Alina trailed solemnly behind Nesterov as he marched to the ship on the lake.

Scorpius trailed behind, secretly dreading what was awaiting him back at his dorm. There was bound to be a party, but what will Rose do? Will she forgive him? Will she never talk to him again?!

The last to walk out of the Dining Hall, Scorpius dragged his feet and turned to go up the stairs.

" _Just what did you think you were doing?!_ "

Scorpius was shocked out of his wits as a furious Rose jumped out next to him. Her beautiful face was almost as red as her hair. Hands clenched at her sides, she glared vehemently up at him.

"I-I-I… well-" Scorpius stuttered, too startled to form any coherent words.

" _Well? What? Why didn't you tell me you were entering?"_

"I'm sorry! I really am! I thought you would think I was stupid to do! And if you did support me, I was sure I wouldn't get it, so I didn't want to let you down!" Scorpius blurted out the half-truth. It was taking all of his will power not to tell her the main reason.

Rose deflated just a tad. "You promise that is wasn't anything else?"

Scorpius nodded, hoping his expression was convincing.

"Okay, I believe you." Rose looked rather relieved, as if she was scared it was something worse.

"What did you think it was?" he asked, not being able to help himself.

"I don't know. Some crazy idea that you couldn't trust me or something. That you were leaving me and we wouldn't be friends anymore." She shrugged.

"Oh, Rose," Scorpius drew his best friend into a tight hug. "I would _never_ leave you and will _always_ be your friend."

Rose squeezed him back. "Yeah, I know. Now, tell me, what did they say?"

Scorpius saw all her previous excitement for the Triwizard Tournament, and more, come back as he told her everything.

"This is so exciting!" Rose squealed as she gave him yet another squeeze. "I still can't believe you're competing in the Triwizard Tournament!"

Smiling fondly at her, he nodded in agreement. This was turning out better than he had expected.

Together they walked back up to Ravenclaw dormitories. As they walked through the door, noise deafened their eyes and the party for Scorpius began. Everyone patted him on the back and shoved food and butter beers into his arms and mouth.

"I didn't know you entered!"

"Well done, Scorpius!"

"I bet you're better than those other two!"

"Cheers for Scorpius, the future winner of the Triwizard Tournament!"

Scorpius looked toward Rose for help, but soon found his endeavors futile for she just laughed at his being pushed around and congratulated.

Finally, early the next morning, Scorpius was allowed to go to sleep. Thankfully, it was Saturday and he slept in till lunch.

When he entered the dining hall, he was met with a roar of applause. All of Hogwarts was cheering for him as their champion. Blushing, Scorpius took his usual seat next to Rose.

"Took your time coming down, did you?" Rose asked good-naturedly. "Well, you're here finally, so after you eat, we'll go straight to the Library!"

Scorpius loved the library, but Rose took it to the next level. "Why the library?"

"Well, we need to look up all the spells you might need to complete the first task, of course! Why didn't you think of this yet?"

"Ah, yes. Of course." Leave it to Rose to think about pouncing on the challenge right away.

True to her word, Scorpius and Rose spent the next four weeks leaning new spells and review old spells that might help him get out of whatever the first challenge might be.

As each day past, the whole school got more excited and tense as if they had just put a dungbomb in the perfect place and were waiting for the magic to happen! Scorpius was usually the center of the tension and excitement. He was always being asked questions about the first task and what is was like to be a champion. To make matters worse, more girls than ever were following him around. Everywhere, little groups of females were tracking his every move. It was like they were working on shifts! These girls would trail behind him in-between Transfiguration and Charms; those girls monitored him on the way to lunch. And they were all very disciplined, never leaving their station. Scorpius hoped that it was just because he was the only boy champion. He really disliked disappointing people, but he had eyes set on another girl.

Somewhere in the middle of those first few weeks, a reporter and photographer came. After photographs, the reporter, looking quite bored, asked a few group questions (though he looked to be doodling in the margins). Scorpius couldn't see how it was possible that everyone wasn't as wound up as he was.

And Rose wouldn't let up on him either. Day and night, in every ounce of spare time, she drilled him again and again on any and every spell that he might need in the task. Soon, he was falling asleep reciting all the different incantations and several of his friends would complaint about Scorpius mumbling in his sleep.

But in spite of his best efforts, the dreaded and anticipated day arrived. On the twenty-forth, Scorpius could hardly stomach his lunch. Everyone was chatting excitedly about what the task might entitle and what the champions might have to face. Scorpius' back was probably already bruised from all the pats on the back he got.

Finally, after an hour of pushing around his food, Headmistress McGonagall walked up to the podium and announced that all the champions must go to the staff room. Everyone cheered and yanked Scorpius up on off the bench like the other champions.

But just before he walked toward the room, Rose managed to catch his robe and bring her lips close to his ear. "Good luck," she said. "I'm rooting for you. Believe in yourself." That made it all worth it for Scorpius. _That's why I'm doing this_ , he told himself. Then he strode confidently up into the staff room.

Everyone was already in the room when he walked in, impatient to start the tasks.

Mr. Forlorm started, "Alright, you guys already know the rules and the gist is super simple. You'll be trapped somewhere and you have to get out. The person to get out the quickest and with the least injury will get the most points. Try to get the clue for the next challenge. Now, we will put you to sleep and you'll wake up trapped and the challenge will start!"

Before Scorpius could react, Ms. Capernickle swirled her wand and the world went black.

Well, that's it for now! Please, _please_ , _PLEASE_ (!) **_REVIEW! PLEASE!_**

I don't care even what the review is about! Just write something, please. Just one sentence. Reviews really, really do make my day.


	4. Chapter 4

Shout out to iwilllovebooksforever: Thanks for helping me write this piece! Very much appreciated.  
Also, many thanks to amal95 and f3y-chan for your support. And Mcurie, I thank you for the advice; I will definitely put it into practice. I hope this chapter is better.

Enjoy!

~x~

 **Chapter 4**

Once more, Rose stared, shocked at her best and closest friend. But this time it was at his unconscious body as the officials levitated him out of the chamber, past the rows of students gawking in silence, and straight out of the dining hall. The silence didn't last long as every pupil got over his or her shock at the same time and the hall erupted in deafening noise.

The professors left in the dining hall tried to hush the students, but the best they could do in five minutes was a quiet mumble.

"Now students," started one of the oldest professors (who Rose had officially dubbed Old-y), "Do not be worried for your champions! They are being taken to where they will complete the task."

He waved his wand in a large arch. A big screen-type thing appeared in the air, twenty feet by thirty feet. On the apparition was a huge maze type thing with a tiny pair of blue feet labeled Malfoy. A ways away there were red and purple feet branded Belevich and Rancourt. There were also several sets of black footprints wondering about.

Old-y croaked out, "The footprints of your champions will grow brighter as they regain conciseness. Then they will race each other to get out of the maze. They will have to fight past many obstacles to get there."

Suddenly, Rose could see more than a few hindrances appear labeled on the map, like a six-foot chasm, as well as a lot of different shaped footprints and blotches that were titled with the names of different dark creatures such as boggart and blast-end skrewt. All the black foot prints disappeared.

"The first task for the Triwizard Tournament has begun!"

Everybody roared. Rose glued her eyes to the screen.

Then, the blue set of foot prints began to glow.

-0.O.o^o.O.0-

Scorpius moaned as he regained consciousness. His head started to throb. Managing to crack open his eyes, Scorpius just succeeded in getting more confused. Then it came to him.

He was upside down.

Wiggling around, he tried to figure out more about his condition. There was a thick chain wrapped around his ankles with a hook attaching it to the ceiling. There was also another chain that wrapped around his torso several times, pinning his arms to his body.

Scorpius could feel the blood rushing to his head. He needed to get out soon or he could pass out. He had no idea how long he had already been hanging there.

Squirming about a bit more, Scorpius was able to determine that his wand was in his pocket. He was quick to get it out and felt a lot more comfortable with it in his hand.

Then, something he probably should have done first, he looked down (or up?).

Below him was what looked like a pond in a dark enclosed brick room. The black waters churned menacingly, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was what was making the waters churn. Piranhas. Tons and tons of piranhas. They swarmed beneath him ready to sink their long hideous fangs into his body. The sight of them combined with Scorpius' already queasy stomach made him retch. He made a mental note to tell the rest of the world that throwing up while upside down is not desirable.

Having _that_ taking care of he carefully used a cutting charm to free his arms form his torso. Then, as he was starting to get dizzy, he reached up and grasped the iron chaining his ankles and pulled himself up to stop the blood form rushing to his head. Scorpius had a new appreciation for all the training that Rose had made him do in the long weeks to the Tournament as well as quidditch practice. Cautiously he stripped off his robe (already it was weighing him down) revealing the T-shirt he had snuck on instead of his regulation dress shirt.

Scorpius looked around and spotted a small opening on the other side of the chamber and contemplated how he was going to get there. He obviously couldn't go through the piranhas so he decided to use the height at which he was to his advantage.

Gripping his wand tighter in his hand, he aimed at a spot in the ceiling about a half yard away. Using a carving charm, he engraved a small handhold. Scorpius then carved more handholds in the ceiling at the ½ yard intervals. Cutting as many as he could from where he was still hanging, he stole his nerve and grasped the nearest handhold as tight as he could. Scorpius then cut the chains around his ankles and his feet swung out wildly beneath him almost making him lose his grip.

Sticking his wand between his teeth, he used the handholds he just created as monkey bars and swung across the top of the cavern. When he got to the last hollow he carved more until he was close to the exit. But there he ran into more trouble.

There was no platform in front of the door. But after a few second of deliberating, it proved to be no trouble at all. He would just crave rungs like a ladder down to the door. But once he did that and put his foot on the first rung, it crumbled beneath his weight almost tossing him to the piranhas. With a short yelp between his teeth, he quickly recovered and backed up. The wall was no longer an option.

After an internal debate about any other possibilities, Scorpius settled on the quickest and most likely to succeed (even though it was still incredibly stupid, but his arms started to feel like they were falling out of their sockets).

Backing up two holds on the ceiling, he rocked himself back and forth, back and forth, back and when he swung forward the third time he launched his self hopefully into the door.

The two seconds he was falling through the air were terrifying. Scorpius could hear the piranhas jumping out of the water. And through he had aimed perfectly, the thought of missing the exit was heart-stopping. It was all he could do to not scream.

Then relief. Scorpius soared through the door. In midflight, he had turned over so his stomach was toward the floor so he was able to land on his toes and hands.

But as soon as he stopped skidding over the dusty floor, he turned around to see what challenges might await him next. Thankfully, though, Scorpius didn't see anything in the small chamber.

He got up, dusted himself off, and walked the quick few steps to the doorway on the other side of the room. But when he got to the doorway and tried to walk through, he couldn't. Scorpius just banged his head against some sort of force field and rebounded back, landing on his butt.

Getting back to his feet, Scorpius shoved at the shield. Nothing happened. He tried to use the destruction charm. Nothing again. He also attempted many different things, but all to no avail. Finally, he sighed, having basically given up. He leaned back against the force field.

And he barely caught himself when he passed right through. Looking back at the door way, Scorpius realized that the door would not let through something that was forceful, but only that which is gentle.

Sighing and turning away, Scorpius apprehended that he was in a corridor that branched to the left and right. Choosing the left, he once more hurried on.

He ran across a boggart and an extremely rude and violent gnome before reaching a doorway into a rather peculiar chamber. In the back of the chamber were three bricks in a clump that stood out from the rest. They seemed to be slightly larger and a bit darker than the others. But what really distinguished them was the fact that they each had a different school crest impressed on their faces.

They were the clues, Scorpius was sure.

The only dilemma was that there was a giant monster to get past. A _Hydrentia_. It was a hydra-plant with a diameter of about six feet and close to one hundred tentacles waving about wildly. Thorns bristled at the end of each tentacle and a gaping mouth, complete with thousands of teeth, waited impatiently for its meal.

But Scorpius knew that he needed the clue. It would help him exponentially. He made up his mind to go and try to get it.

At that moment, the tentacles were waving lazily around the center because they hadn't yet sensed Scorpius' presence. Though, as soon as he got closer, the sensors at the tip of each tentacle would pick up Scorpius and then they would try to snag him with their bristles and drag him to their mouth. He obviously couldn't let that happen.

Unfortunately though, Scorpius did not know the weakness of a Hydrentia. His best guess was to try to edge his way around it. He even got a full three steps.

But when he placed his foot down the third time, all the tentacles snapped toward him with the thorns raised like the hackles on a dog. After a frozen second, both parties lunged into movement; Scorpius to the door and the tentacles to Scorpius.

He managed to use severing charm to cut off the two closest tentacles and dashed through the doorway. Pressing himself against the wall in the corridor, he was barely able to escape the plants straining reach.

As he watched, the two tentacles he had cut off just before began to grow back, but they each slit in the middle so that there was four instead of two. Cut the plant to bits was now not an option.

But as Scorpius looked at the plant, he noted it had with tiny black spots getting more frequent as they get closer to the base which stood out against the slimy green color of the rest of the plant. This reminded him of a different plant whose weakness was fire. He decided why not try it.

Causing a plume of fire to shoot out of the tip of his wand, Scorpius aimed it at horror in front of him. As he hoped, at the first lick of flame the Hydrentia curled in on itself. Keeping the blaze focused on it, Scorpius edged around the plant to the clues.

Once he reached them, the brick with Hogwarts crest practically wiggled out of the wall and into his hand.

Then Scorpius ran out of the room and continued nonstop until he stumbled out of the exit. He only ran into a troll (which he sank in a pit of quicksand, an easy transfiguration) and a particularly nasty bunch of doxies, or biting fairies (he had to confound them into attacking the walls).

As soon as he ran tumbling out of the dark corridors he was deafened by a thunder of cheers coming from the group in front of him.

"Congratulations!" Mrs. Capernickle's voice boomed above the others. "You are the first champion to complete the first task!"

The Hogwarts students surged around Scorpius, but Rose beat them all to it and wrapped him in a hug. And for several moments Scorpius was in pure bliss.

~x~

Now I know this was a bit shorter than the other chapters, but I did get it out a lot sooner!  
Please don't forget to _review_! It means sooo much to me! I welcome any questions, suggestions, and/or advise with wide open arms. :)

 **Also! I need to tell you that I'm going on a temporary** **hiatus** **, but I WILL NOT QUIT THIS STORY! I'm just super busy with family, school, church and other stuff as well as a different project that I'm super hyped up for. BUT I'M NOT QUITTING! _THE TOURNAMENT SHALL BE CONTINUED!_**


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